Archive for December, 2010

Michael Kromwyk was a recent attendee at the UniSA Business in China MBA course. Welcome to South Australia met Michael in Shanghai as a part of his study tour. “This was my second trip to China after attending a trade show in Guangzhou. I feel that this experience from an academic and personal perspective has given me an insight into doing business in China and that I can help the RAA to buy better out of China.”

Michael’s day job is as RAA’s Senior Manager, Retail Distribution responsible for sales, member experience and merchandise buys for this highly respected Motoring organisation. “I’ve been at RAA for 5 years and see my transition to this role as a bit of a journey of self-experience”. With over 200 staff, a call centre, 22 shops and a web site, he has a lot of responsibility in generating income for the RAA Group. His prior experience as a sales executive at a number of SA iconic organisations has helped him throughout his career journey.

“I really believe in delighting the customer. I teach my staff to put themselves into the customer’s shoes and to give them an experience that makes them want to come back again and again.” Michael has introduced the Friedman system of sales to RAA – this is a values based selling system that helps the customer to save money while covering all of their needs. At RAA Michael’s team can sell emergency roadside assistance, home and motor insurance, holidays, security and merchandise that complement these services. A true one-stop shop.

Michael has the aspiration to be a General Manager and to this end has almost completed a MBA at UniSA. “This experience has changed my outlook on my career and while I love working for RAA I can see myself in Asia in the near future in a key sales executive role, in fact a highlight of my study was the Business in China Intensive School that I attended with UniSA in March 2010.”

“My MBA at UniSA and my experiences of studying in China have made me a better manager and a better negotiator in bringing merchandise into my stores. My journey is continuing and I see my next career transition working with a Chinese multinational or working in the Asian region, hopefully in Shanghai!” The cultural experience has also given Michael a desire to work in Asia “I have a desire to work in China; unfortunately this can’t be with RAA as we are a state based organisation.”

Michael welcomes readers to contact him direct at mkromwyk@raa.com.au if you are moving or setting up a business in South Australia to talk about your insurance, road service, security and holiday needs. If you are a supplier or just want to share your experiences with Michael you can also email or follow Michael on twitter @charmike4, LinkedIn or his blog at https://newretailweb.wordpress.com/